


Melia's Devotion

by bethany81707



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, In-Universe Merchandise, Jealousy As Backstory, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 04:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17780642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: Melia and Fiora prepare their gifts for their friends. Fiora seems to have done more than she lets on, and Melia can only piece together the surprise as it comes- after all, it is for her as much as it seemed to be for Shulk.





	Melia's Devotion

Melia watched Fiora’s head spin around like an owl, darting to face some display or other in the new, expanded Shopping District in the Colony. The wares on offer were greater than the Colony 9 she had grown up with and the Colony 6 she had helped restore before the universe’s recreation, and this was her first time being in the area after her body was restored that she had the express goal of purchasing something. Melia, never having had much opportunity or desire to shop, was making sure Fiora didn’t break herself or bump into somebody amid all her darting around.

“So who do you want to buy for first?” Melia asked, guessing the answer. However, Fiora surprised her by saying Dunban. Fiora pointed out where she expected to find her present- perched on a wall. Grabbing a plastic tub from a nearby display, she tiptoed closer to the little critter, placing the lid and container on either side before quickly closing them together, catching the bug. She sealed it in, and compensated the vendor before asking Melia to poke some holes in the tub for the bug to breathe.

“What specimen  _ is _ that?” Melia asked, peering at it more closely.

“It’s a Minute Mantis. I remember Dunban being fairly disappointed he couldn’t keep this for himself when Sonia traded us hers,” Fiora stated, looking at the creature. Large, and with a lot of stripes that could very well be 77. Neither girl particularly cared to look at it much longer.

“Right… what would Reyn and Riki like besides food?” Fiora asked.

“Well, you can’t exactly go wrong with it,” Melia pointed out.

“I know, but it’s our first Devotion Day in the new world… I wanted to get something more special for them,” Fiora said. Melia nodded, considering it as she passed shops selling all sorts of merchandise.

“Fiora… have you seen these?” Melia asked, stopping her outside a display of little plush toys of themselves. They had large heads with eyes and no mouth, but otherwise were basically identical to the average plush bear in general shape. They were listed as coming in all of Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, Dunban, Melia, Riki and Fiora’s designs, but none of the Sharla or Riki dolls were available, and they were down to the last two Melias. Somewhat counter-intuitively, Shulk seemed the least popular.

“Aw, these are cute,” Fiora remarked, grabbing one of her own and squeezing it a little. She turned back to the set, and snapped up both Melias and a Shulk in addition to the Fiora in her hands. Melia had to agree the dolls had their charms, and decided, on a whim, to get a Dunban and a Shulk for herself.

“Still need something for Reyn and Sharla. Oh, and probably some candy as well for the boys,” Fiora muttered. Melia nodded, pointing out a place to get a few chocolate boxes while she considered Sharla’s preferences. She was fond of fruit, so Melia reasoned something natural would be a good fit. As she looked for a place to sell something suitable, she found the woman herself passing by a jewelry store, looking at a displayed locket.

“Hey, Sharla! Found anything for Reyn?” Melia called. Sharla jumped, and Melia noticed her trying to hide her Reyn plush. She showed off her own, and Sharla relaxed her efforts.

“Reyn’s never been one for sentimentality. I imagine he’d appreciate whatever I got him, but if he didn’t have a use for it, it would disappoint him a little,” Sharla suggested.

“Which, of course, makes food a fairly safe bet with him,” Melia remarked.

“Yeah, but still… anyway, how much do you know of jewelry?” Sharla asked. Of course, Melia had a lot of experience with picking out jewels in her royal days, but she had never understood flaunting large gemstones- she had always preferred the aesthetic of more subdued pieces.

“More than a little,” Melia said, looking at the jewelry window. Sharla did the same, pointing to a locket draped around a neck mannequin.

“That’s rather pretty, but it’s also not something I could really justify, especially since prices like to go up around this time of year and I’ve got all these gifts I’ve got to get for Otharon, Juju, Reyn… also get some flowers for Gadolt…” Sharla said. Melia looked at it.

“It does look fairly genuine. Want me to get it for you?” Melia asked.

“...Nah, it’s your money. Just… just my musings, really,” Sharla sighed, shaking her head and moving on. Melia let a slight frown reach her face, turning back to the locket.

_ Why bring it up if she was just going to pass it up? _

Melia turned back to Fiora, who was grabbing more than two boxes of chocolates, and appeared to be putting thought into each one. She’d be gone long enough. Melia slipped into the store and claimed the locket, keeping a firm hand to stop the merchant sliding the price up on the spot, and left. By the time Fiora had left the chocolate shop, it wasn’t apparent where Melia had gotten her own box, but she did state it was for Sharla.

“Know anything for Reyn?” Fiora asked. Melia thought back to her conversation with Sharla, looking around, and pointed out something selling all sorts of crates. The two girls approached it, and Fiora found the clue relatively quickly- a kind of crate that kept itself cold in otherwise warm conditions. Fiora claimed it as her gift to Reyn.

“That leaves Shulk, doesn’t it?” Melia asked cheekily. Fiora sighed. Of course Shulk would be getting something- under some interpretations of the holiday, getting gifts for anyone else would be peculiar. However, Fiora wasn’t keen on doing things traditionally, choosing a boutique rather than, say, the scrap shop. Melia went to take her gifts and hold them as Fiora delved into the dresses, but Fiora set them on a stool and called over Betty.

“Can you design us something nice?” Fiora asked. Melia wondered how this would come into the gift for Shulk, but Betty agreed with a wink and led Fiora into a fitting room. Melia’s mind wandered across the room. She had never really thought about Homs fashion before now, but the idea of getting something with a more cutesy feel than the noble elegance of her High Entia fashion was definitely something she’d like to try. But this was hardly befitting Shulk.

_ Could this… could this perhaps be Fiora’s Devotion gift to  _ me _? Fiora’s not leaving out Riki, it makes sense she wouldn’t leave out me- even if we did get off on the wrong foot. But I never thought she’d get me something while I was with her… _

“Melia, could you come in?” Betty asked. Melia considered the locket, but since Fiora had come out and came to sit by the pile, Melia accepted the request. Betty stood her in the centre of the room, and pulled some measuring tape around her body in all the usual places. Her thoughts, meanwhile, were drawn to the picture of the dress in front of her, with a bunch of specifications listed next to it.

“What is this?” Melia asked.

“It’s what Fiora thought you might like in a dress. Feel free to say anything you might want to change,” Betty told her. Melia brought her critical eye to the design, noting immediately the things she’d change. The material should be a looser fabric, firstly- she hated the stiffness of her formal wear, this should be a nicer dress. Surprising Betty was a request for the hem of the skirt to be brought up from calves to knees. The padding could go, perhaps add a sash around the waist… but she had to admit she was surprised how much the pink colour and wavy pattern worked for her. Betty nodded, finishing the measurements and letting her go. Melia accompanied Fiora out of the shop, looking for something for Shulk, but Fiora surprised her by saying she was ready to head home.

“...In what way was the dress for Shulk?” Melia asked. Fiora chuckled.

“Oh, it was something Shulk’d appreciate, but I never said it was for him. I already  _ have _ Shulk’s gift, though,” Fiora told her. Melia blinked, before looking down at the locket.

“...What about Sharla?” Melia asked.

“Oh, I saw a cute little tree I want to look at, but I can pass by that on the way back home,” Fiora said, and set off. Melia was left with a gift for Sharla- something she thought she might as well add to the festivities- plushes she had bought on a whim for herself, and anticipation for Fiora’s surprise. Well, she supposed she’d have to find something for Shulk and Dunban.

* * *

 

After lunch on Devotion Day itself, Melia allowed Fiora to enter the house, blushing as she saw her already in her dress. She wore a variant on Emmy Leater’s old dyed clothes, with a rather low cut and a deeper colour tone, and held a box she could only assume was Melia’s own dress in her hands, dragging along some wheeled cart behind her with the rest of the gifts.

“How do you feel?” Fiora asked.

“My heart’s beating uncontrollably whenever I think of Shulk. It’s the fact I have no idea whether he goes for the big celebrations or he’ll have something small and personal,” Melia said. She opened the box, found the dress to be just as acceptable as she had believed, and ducked out of the room to change. With practice born of her royal days, she was back out in five minutes, and allowed Fiora to give her hair a quick once-over with her hands.

“It’ll be fine, Melia. Shulk’s going to love you just as much today as any other day,” Fiora pointed out.

“I know… I… I know…” Melia breathed. She was telling the truth on that one- it was never in doubt the kind boy’s bond with Melia was anything other than close.

“Come on… let’s get going,” Fiora said.

* * *

 

It was Melia’s turn to look around at the spectacle of Devotion Day. She had always watched such festivities from afar, and to see what they were like from up close was astounding. Fiora wasn’t immune, however, as Nopon, High Entia and Machina interpretations of the holiday appeared alongside her known Homs background. She picked up a few tokens from each culture, looking across them with more interest than Melia had. Melia still struggled to imagine herself as having that sort of devotion to anyone outside of Kallian, and yet she had gifts to give to four people today, bonds that could very well have been as close, if not closer, than her brother.

“Melia! Fiora!” Reyn called, ushering the pair over to the corner for the Heroes of Bionis. It was thanks to Shulk and Melia that it was a corner, but it still seemed to be close enough for traffic. Dunban was telling stories to wide-eyed youths, Sharla was combing the hair of some precocious girls, and Riki was keeping an eye on his littlepon.

“Girls!” Shulk gasped out. Melia considered him as she sat down beside him- Dunban had gotten him something nice and formal looking, but it was clear Shulk was still adapting to it. Not the least because Shulk was marvelling at Melia’s own dress.

“You look amazing, Melia!” Shulk eventually got out. Melia smiled, and returned the compliment, turning to Fiora, who had brought out the gifts. She passed Melia the pile she had for herself, but Melia waited as Fiora did hers first. Riki ultimately turned down the Melia doll, saying that she didn’t like Melia in that kind of way- something that got him approval from Oka. To be honest, the slight tension between Oka and herself over this matter is why Melia didn’t get Riki anything. Sharla semed rather taken with the tree, wondering in what ways she could treat it as a tree around the house. Dunban was overjoyed with the Minute Mantis, now in a more appropriate kind of box, and hugged Fiora and Melia for helping him come by one. And Reyn grinned, thinking of the possibilities the box would have when it came to exploring the new world. Shulk wondered why he had been passed, but Fiora winked and asked Melia to share her gifts first. Dunban politely thanked her for a book on entomology outside of the Homs colonies- she suspected he might already have something on the topic, but at least he still had the Minute Mantis. Sharla’s surprise at receiving the locket she had eyed stopped her from leaping into a hug, but Melia knew the gift met her approval. And Shulk marvelled at a book with blueprints for the High Entia machinery.

“So, out with it then. What did you get Shulk?” Melia asked Fiora. Fiora grinned, standing in between him and her. She reached into a pouch dramatically, and pulled out a pair of tickets to the prime seating for Sesame’s fireworks show. Shulk and Melia looked between them and each other.

“...How nice, Fiora,” Melia stammered out. Shulk thanked her, and leaned in to hug Melia.

“...Don’t worry, Melia. It’s no different to anything else,” Shulk told her. Melia agreed, but couldn’t stop her nerves overcoming her. It was quite irrational…

“Well, I suppose you have something to look forward to. For now, though…” Dunban pitched in, to help defuse the tension, before passing Melia a package, marked as being from both him and Fiora. Melia opened it, and saw a picture of her and Shulk, resting on the Banteng Plains. This moment, so shortly after the defeat of the Telethia in Makna, was the moment when Shulk and Melia first began to bond in a manner unlike that of guide and traveller, and Fiora’s brush had captured that sense of budding companionship. However, the chemistry of the couple was quite different- in reality, Melia had asked Shulk for companionship when nightmares befell her. In this picture, however, her serenity was at the forefront. It made for a rather rose-tinted reflection.

“This is beautiful,” Melia eventually said, finding her voice at last.

“Thanks, I worked hard on it,” Fiora told her. Melia’s eyes started to wander, looking at the Bionis’s left shoulder from the perspective of someone who wasn’t there. She was surprised to spot Reyn, Riki, Dunban and Sharla in the background- for how small and undetailed they were, Fiora had captured their dynamic rather well, all things considered.

“I shall find a place to hang this at the first opportunity,” Melia proclaimed. She always did feel more at ease when she thought herself as an ordinary girl, rather than as the Empress. Maybe having decorations like this around would help her, even as her skills as Empress were necessary during reconstruction. She had to wonder if she’d continue in the role as everything quietened down, or if she’d pass on the mantle to someone with more experience in this context. With so many smiling faces around her, she quietly decided to shelf that thought.

“Do you want to go have a look around?” Shulk asked. Melia nodded, wondering what attractions were around on Devotion Day.

* * *

The celebrations, as it turned out, weren’t up to Melia’s standard. A lot of lovestruck looking couples pressed against each other, held hands with each other, compared their affection for each other… she had enough of that giddy crush phase on the Bionis. Shulk, for his part, wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of  going on any of the rides- his technical expertise meant he had either been responsible for assembling the pieces or would be mentally disassembling the ride.

“So… what’s on your mind?” Shulk asked.

“Shulk… do you think I could be Empress here, in the Colony?” Melia asked.

“Are you kidding? I never doubted you!” Shulk said, pulling her into a hug that pulled her off her feet. Melia felt a little childish, allowing her wings to flap about, but her feet came back to the ground in time, and her mind followed behind.

“I’ve… I’ve only had some of the skills for the job. A lot of the things I learned in Alcamoth just aren’t relevant any more. Makes me wonder how much more I have over someone else,” Melia shared.

“Don’t worry, Melia, everyone else is thinking the same thing. Miqol’s not used to so much population boom, Dunga has no sense of scale, Otharon looks over his shoulder every few seconds… you’re probably the most qualified of the lot,” Shulk pointed out.

“The others… they’re all…” Melia started.

“All of them. They’ve just mastered hiding it. You’re still on the younger end for High Entia, so they understand your doubts,” Shulk told her. Melia shivered a little, and noticed Shulk’s hand slip into hers.

“I’m thinking a little mandatory vacation time is in order. A day or two out of every week or so. Don’t worry, the others can adapt. And I’d say the rest of today can be counted as a vacation,” Shulk suggested. Melia was ready to blanch, but Shulk had reached into a pouch at his hip and pulled out a package- wait, did Shulk really not give her a gift back at the table? Was she imagining things?

Melia opened the gift, tossing the wrapping into a bin, and held up a hairband. It looked rather simple, at first glance- pink with gold trim, even if the gold looked more realistic than a hairband might normally have. Made of metal, too. Shulk took it, and placed it gently on her head- the idea of the band being a crown on her head came to mind, and it surprised her to not dismiss that notion immediately. Crowned, not as Empress, but as a girl. Melia thanked him for the gift, and her eyes lit up on a cute little corner stall that was baking and selling cookies. Shulk offered her one, and with her bite, she decided on the spot to make her own. Something nice and simple… like an ordinary girl with an ordinary boyfriend, and not an Empress. Yeah, maybe this could work.

* * *

Shulk led Melia to Outlook Park, which had been cleared for surprisingly few people to sit and watch the fireworks from such a vantage point. Only a small handful of couples, most of whom Melia knew by sight alone, had made their appearance, and Sesame seated Shulk and herself on a bench such that Melia could hardly see anyone else unless she tried really hard. Was this another of Fiora’s machinations?

_ She didn’t need to try so hard...  _

With the fireworks in the air, all Melia cared to focus on was the light show. Sure, Sesame hadn’t perfected the powder yet, but he had managed to perform more than the usual explosion thanks to High Entia assistance- that ‘little more’ was making a single firework produce a heart-shaped explosion. With the Machina’s aid and a few more months, however, Sesame had proclaimed he would be able to portray much more complex shapes- something Melia looked forward to.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Shulk’s hug tightening, pulling them together. Melia looked over to him, seeing him still largely immersed in the performance, and nudged him in turn. Shulk let out a quiet chuckle, pulling her onto his lap. Melia smiled, hearing the last of the fireworks, and noticing the other couples turn to leave. Sesame made sure they didn’t leave anything behind, and followed them away. Melia looked in their direction, confused and  _ certainly _ suspicious, before Shulk brought her head back.

“There’s nothing wrong with sticking around Outlook Park,” Shulk pointed out. Melia looked over the Colony, and the ocean beyond. Even with the fireworks over, the view remained as beautiful as it had ever been. Shulk was right- barring the surprise appearance of Dark Murakmor, which seemed unlikely, this was as fine a place to sit as any.

“Do you know why Fiora organised all this?” Melia asked.

“She feels bad about everything she did when she came back. She hated you so much for stealing her place in the group,” Shulk pointed out. Melia looked down, thinking back to that. When she and Shulk had reunited on the Fallen Arm, they had rushed into an embrace, eager never again to be separated. However, when they broke apart to introduce the two girls, the fury on Fiora’s face was well and truly set, and it was only thanks to an imminent body malfunction that she didn’t attack Melia on the spot. With enough work, and a few close calls, the two had set aside their differences, but Melia couldn’t feel comfortable around her until after her six month coma gave them ‘time apart’.

“She is a lot calmer than I remember her,” Melia said.

“This is pretty much how I remembered her before the Mechon attack. I’m sorry you got such a bad first impression off her,” Shulk said. Melia took in a breath, before Shulk pulled her head up.

“May I?” Shulk asked. Melia nodded, and Shulk drew her in for a kiss.


End file.
